Moraceae, or the mulberry family, contains several highly valued tropical species long cultivated for their fruits. Ficus (fig) is considered to be one of the first foods to be preserved by drying. Production of Ficus carica, the principal fig grown commercially as food, is highest in the Mediterranean region (Turkey, Greece, and Italy) and the United States.

Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) is an extremely important food source throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific; more recently it has been widely cultivated in the Neotropics and in Africa. The fruit, usually about the size of a grapefruit and seedless, consists of a starchy, pulpy white mass that is customarily cooked before eating. In the seeded form, the seeds are boiled or roasted and have a flavour similar to that of the chestnut.

Artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit) bears one of the largest known edible fruits and has been cultivated for centuries throughout much of southern Asia. While it has not gained the popularity of the breadfruit, its pulp and seeds are used in cooking.

A number of lesser fruits of the order also are eaten; examples include the Brosimum alicastrum (breadnut), Morus alba (white mulberry), M. rubra (red mulberry), and M. nigra (black mulberry).

In addition to food plants such as Ficus carica (common fig), Ficus contains many ornamentals: F. elastica (India rubber plant), F. benjamina (weeping fig), F. sycomorus (sycamore fig), and F. religiosa (bo tree, or sacred fig), which has religious significance to Buddhists and Hindus and under which the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.

F. benghalensis (banyan) spreads by dropping aerial roots from the branches to the ground to become accessory trunks. The branches continue to grow horizontally, and a single individual eventually resembles a grove of trees. The famous banyan in the Indian Botanic Garden in Kolkata (Calcutta) is more than 300 metres (almost 1,000 feet) in circumference.

Moraceae contains a number of latex-producing plants. Ficus elastica was used as an early source of rubber before synthetic rubber was invented. Latex from Ficus species and Artocarpus altilis is employed in chewing gums, glues, caulking compounds, and birdlime—a sticky substance used to ensnare birds. Brosimum galactodendron (cow tree or milk tree) produces an abundance of latex similar in taste to ordinary milk.

The latex of Ficus glabrata and F. laurifolia contains the proteolytic enzyme ficin, which digests Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm, or nematode), the agent of ascariasis, without harming the human host. It is used extensively in South America and Panama. Ficus species in Fiji and China are used to treat toothache. The latex of Antiaris toxicaria (upas tree) contains an extremely toxic cardiac glycoside, which has the effect of increasing the force of contraction of the muscles of the heart; in tropical Asia it is a valuable source of poison for arrows and darts. Maclura pomifera (Osage orange), of central North America, is suspected of being toxic to livestock; its milky latex can also irritate skin.

Several genera in the mulberry family are valuable sources of timber. In Africa the wood of Antiaris, while not highly durable, is suitable for veneer and plywood, furniture components, and light construction. Two species of iroko, Chlorophora excelsa and C. regia, cover the breadth of tropical Africa and produce durable heartwood used in joinery, boatbuilding and marine work, flooring, furniture, and veneer; it is often used as a substitute for oak and teak. Another species in tropical America, C. tinctoria (fustic), is used in heavy construction, planking, and flooring. In Southeast Asia and Oceania, species of Artocarpus, the same genus cultivated for the breadfruits and jackfruits, produce woods of variable durability used in joinery, furniture and cabinetwork, and musical instruments. In the American tropics, Bagassa, Brosimum, Clarisia, Helicostylis, and Poulsenia are all sources of wood for general construction. Brosimum guianense (letterwood, also called leopardwood or snakewood) is employed in inlays, turnery, fancy handles for cutlery, and violin bows. B. paraense (Brazilian redwood) is used for furniture. Species of Trophis are used locally in Venezuela.

Click anywhere inside the article to add text or insert superscripts, subscripts, and special characters.
You can also highlight a section and use the tools in this bar to modify existing content:

Add links to related Britannica articles!
You can double-click any word or highlight a word or phrase in the text below and then select an article from the search box.
Or, simply highlight a word or phrase in the article, then enter the article name or term you'd like to link to in the search box below, and select from the list of results.

Note: we do not allow links to external resources in editor.
Please click the Web sites link for this article to add citations for
external Web sites.